I did alcohol for decades, it was rather destructive. I quit drinking about 18 years ago and haven't touched a drop since, and I never will.

Its too late to turn back now.

I used alcohol for 11 years to deal w/ my anxiety. I started when was 16 & of course as time went on both my drinking & anxiety got worse. Last year I went to rehab for a month & came out feeling like a new woman. I've got a good therapist, great family support, & for me my meds are key to my treatment.

oh and I'm still sober :)

I am looking at counseling programs now. I am tired of feeling this way and ready to do something about it.

My son tried for years to tame his impulses by drinking. When he was 24 he was diagnosed with Bi-Polar, ADHD and OCD. The drinking masked a larger problem and he has finally taken steps to "Restart" his life. I am so proud of him.
I'm not saying that there is an underlining problem with you. But a good Psychiatrist councelors AA with a sponsor and family support has changed his life. He says he is "now the man I wanted to be". It took him a few years to stop drinking, denial, denial, denial.
If you believe that you may have any kind of addition problem, then just thinking that should be a RED FLAG to yourself.
You can be the person you really want to be. Trust yourself.
Best wishes.

You could start with some of the free support groups, A.A. or whatever is available in your area. And definitely confide in any doctor or therapist that you have. Very brave of you to admit you have a problem and that you are using the alcohol for your anxiety. That's a huge step in itself.

Cat. Thanks for the Bi-polar success story, we need more of those. And congratulations on your sons escape from hell.

Truthfully, when I quit drinking, my anxiety almost became non existent compared to when I was drinking. (I drank non stop, like a fish).

I went to a physc unit to detox from alcohol, they can treat you with medications to help the transition to not drinking, ,I used it to treat anxiety and sleep. instead they gave me sleep aid and anxiety meds. I started working out and staying really buisy inside and outside of home, it was a huge help.
It started so innocent with just one drink to help that lead down a slippery slope to alcohol problems, there are also alcohol classes you can attend to help you through,Much better off without it, only causes problems in the long run.
Good luck to you on your new journey, attmitting the problem is the first step to recovrry.
There are also out patient classes to help with self help skills ton help with depression and anxiety, done consistently once learned a big help.
Hugs.